The Rich Should Shoulder More of the Poor’s Burden. to What Extent Is This True?

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The rich should shoulder more of the poor’s burden. To what extent is this true? Consider the following essay plans. There’s nothing wrong with the order of the paragraphs in Plan 1, but Plan 2 illustrates how re-ordering the paragraphs can make a difference. PLAN 1 [Content is courtesy of Ezra] Thesis The rich are already doing a lot to shoulder the poor’s burden. Furthermore, there are problems with the status quo which make shouldering more of the poor’s burden unnecessary and possibly counter-productive. As harsh as it might sound, the truth is that until we solve the problems in the status quo, the rich should not shoulder more of the poor’s burden. Paragraph 1 Explanation of the status quo and how the rich are already doing a lot / enough. Engagement of counter-arguments to show an understanding of why some might argue for shouldering more of the poor’s burden. [Paragraphs 2-4: Problems with the status quo] Paragraph 2 Donor countries are unwilling to provide more aid. In fact, existing levels of aid provision are not being met enthusiastically. Thus, asking for more aid is pointless. Paragraph 3 Problems with the provision of aid render aid ineffective, as donors may not understand the needs of the country (e.g. providing technology that the locals have no means of maintaining) Paragraph 4 Problems in the recipient country make aid ineffective. One key problem is corruption in the government, which means that much aid never actually gets to the intended recipients. Paragraph 5 When aid is provided, recipient countries often become trapped by the debt burden which they may never escape Paragraph 6 Donor countries often have their own problems to deal with, and it’s the responsibility of the government to look after their own people first. PLAN 2 Thesis (as above) Paragraph 1 (as above) [Paragraphs 2-4: Problems with the status quo]
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